Composer Yoon Il-sang guessed that singer Yoo Seung-jun's true intention might have been to be in the United States.
Recently, a video titled "Yoo Seung-jun debut days + the late Seo Ji-won + baseball cheering song, the behind-the-scenes you like" was released on the YouTube channel "Producer Yoon Il-sang."
In the video, Yoon Il-sang responded to the production staff saying, "There was an issue recently. Yoo Seung-jun is now in Korea," by asking, "Do you want to fall into ruin?" The production staff asked again, "Anyway, brother, didn't you produce Yoo Seung-jun's debut song? We're curious about your first impressions and his popularity at the time."
Yoon Il-sang said, "The debut album included a song called "Saranghae Nuna," and to tell the behind-the-scenes, that was when the "Yoon Il-sang quota" — a restriction on appearances and broadcasts because so many of my songs were being used — had just been implemented," adding, "The original title song was "Saranghae Nuna," but it was completely changed to "Gawi." After releasing "Gawi," his gaze, actions and dancing were incredible. Yoo Seung-jun was the first artist who told me he wanted to produce himself."
He continued, "So the producer brother told me to try it, and although "Na Na Na" was the title track, I was heavily involved from "The Love I Waited For" onward, creating songs and concepts. His popularity at the time is said to have been on par with G-Dragon now, but it wasn't comparable. If it were today, it would have been a worldwide frenzy. Back then, the agency tried to raise him like Michael Jackson and went to meet Michael Jackson. Michael Jackson even praised him for his dancing."
Yoon Il-sang said, "Yoo Seung-jun worked hard and did well. He aimed for a rough West Coast rap, while Korean rap at the time tended to be closer to East Coast styles. Even though he had complaints about that side, he followed along. He wasn't a singer with outstanding vocal ability, but he had adequate singing, very good rapping and remarkable performance skills," adding, "His actual personality was polite, but maybe because I found him a difficult subject, I didn't give him a close place. We mainly talked about music, and I think Yoo Seung-jun's heart was in the United States. He was American but also Korean, yet he seemed to think Korea was a place driven by business. I think he believed his home to return to was the U.S., so he made a choice that didn't make sense."
Yoon Il-sang said, "Didn't he make grand promises to the public? If he couldn't keep them, he should have offered a sincere apology. An apology must continue until the person receiving it accepts it. He should apologize honestly; there was a strong sense of betrayal toward the country. I sometimes contact him, and if Yoo Seung-jun won't see me because of this video, it can't be helped. Personally, I don't hate Yoo Seung-jun, but as an entertainer Yoo Seung-jun clearly did wrong. Anyone can make mistakes, but what matters is how you handle things afterward. It seems the apology part hasn't even started."
Meanwhile, Yoo Seung-jun debuted in 1997 with his first album "West Side" and was very active, producing numerous hit songs. Notably, he publicly declared he would enlist in the military at the time but suddenly obtained U.S. citizenship to avoid military service. Because of this, Yoo Seung-jun's entry to Korea has been restricted since 2002.
[OSEN]